“The Fine Print”, by Michael Schrader

THE TRUE MEANING OF THE SEASON?

(Written 23 December 1998. Published in the Neighborhood Journal. Posted 08 September 2009.)

We tend to take Christmas for granted. For many Americans, the Christmas season means presents, parties, and days off from work. It has come to be expected and taken for granted. However, not all Americans are blessed with paid holidays, parties, and presents. Yet in our own gluttony of good fortune, we tend to forget about these folks.

When you are enjoying your day off with your family this Christmas, think of all of those who are neither enjoying a day off nor spending time with their family. Who would be working on Christmas, you ask? Crime, for example, does not take a holiday, so the police must work on Christmas. Firefighters, too, for fires do not stop for Christmas. Utility workers, too, do not get a break for Christmas. You know, they can't just turn the lights off at the power plant and go home. Somebody has to stay and make sure that the electricity flows. Same goes for the folks at the gas and water companies.

Doctors and nurses and medical personnel don't get a break for Christmas, either. People still get sick on Christmas, after all, and they can't just put a sign on the hospital doors saying, "Sorry, we're closed, come back tomorrow," for one day could be the difference between life and death.

Okay, we must concede that there are some people who have to work Christmas Day, but these are essential jobs that must be performed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of the year. If any of these jobs were not performed for even a millisecond the result could be, well, catastrophic.

But there are many, many people who have "non-emergency" jobs who have to work on Christmas, too. Hotels, for example, do not shut down for Christmas. They still must have staff to man the desk, clean the rooms, and take care of the place. Yes, even on Christmas.

Gas stations are open on Christmas as well. And, with the exception of US Fuel's nifty unmanned stations, the rest are manned by a person, a person who must work on a Christmas Day so that you, the fortunate who do not have to work on Christmas Day, can get gas on your way to visit Grandma.

When you are driving to Grandma's on Christmas Day, and you are listening to Christmas music on the radio, remember that somebody is working at that radio station on Christmas Day so that you can enjoy listening to Christmas music on your day off on your way to spend time with your family. That guy at the radio station, on the other hand, is not enjoying a day off and is not spending time with his family because he is at the station. He has sacrificed his day off so that you might better be able to enjoy yours.

You know, airlines fly on Christmas Day. This means that there are airline crews that are not only not spending time with their families, they may be spending Christmas alone in a foreign city. Even if only one flight arrived on Christmas, there is still a whole battery of people that are needed. Besides the flight crew, you have maintenance personnel, baggage handlers, firefighters (just in case), counter clerks, airport security personnel, rental car employees, taxi drivers, air traffic controllers--the list goes on and on.

When you stop to think about it, there are a whole lot of people who work on Christmas Day, who don't get to spend time going to parties, opening presents, or visiting family and friends. The holiday has become so jaded, so hackneyed, we have so taken it for granted, that we forget about all of those who have sacrificed their Christmas Day to make ours better.

So, before you dig into that Roast Beast, take a few moments to think about all of those strangers who will not be partaking of a Christmas feast in order to make your Christmas a little bit better, a little bit easier, a little bit more worry-free, a little bit more enjoyable.

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